DIY

How to Make your Rakhi and Eat it Too!

Rakshabandhan or Rakhi is a festival that celebrates the bond of love between siblings, and also marks the beginning of the festive season for Indians. Rakshabandhan in Sanskrit literally translates to 'the bond of protection and care' and on this day sisters tie a sacred thread 'rakhi' or an amulet on the wrists of their brothers in a show of love, and the brothers promise to always love and protect her. Modern-day siblings who are increasingly questioning patriarchal practices set in rituals have created feminist versions of the festival, with both siblings tying a rakhi to each other, or simply celebrating the day with each other. The markets in every city and town are dotted with stalls and stores selling colorful plastic beads. But why get a plastic rakhi when you can make a delicious rakhi, and then gobble it up with your bro!

A rakhi you can eat? Edible rakhis in different shapes and sizes, made with different flavours of traditional mithai, chocolate, fondant or cookies are now getting popular. These rakhis are a perfect way to cheer up your little brother, or sister for that matter. And if your sibling is a foodie, then you’ve hit a jackpot! Edible rakhis are especially popular with young kids, so if you have a younger sibling you want to indulge, here’s a quick way to make your very own DIY edible rakhi shared with us by Delhi-based chef Rubal Pupneja, Hotel Samrat, ITDC.

Make it now! Melt 30 grams of dark chocolate over a double boiler. Once the chocolate melts, spread it evenly over a grease paper and allow it to set by transferring into the refrigerator. Once set, cut it into a round disc shape with a help of a round cutter. Repeat the same double boiler melting method with about 15 grams of white chocolate. Set it in refrigerator and while cutting the round disc of white chocolate, ensure that it is smaller than the dark chocolate.

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Divide 40 grams of marzipan into three parts. (Marzipan is a confectionary item generally made from sugar and almond powder but you can also use its different variation that can be easily availed at any bakery and confectionary store). Add few drops of the natural food colouring to each so that you get two or three distinct coloured marzipan. Make a disc out of the yellow coloured marzipan to use it as a base for your edible rakhi and keep it aside.

Now, make a colourful strap with the second and third helping of marzipan by mixing and rolling them and create textured designs with a toothpick for the strap. Now assemble the rakhi by placing the yellow coloured marzipan disc, over the strap, followed by the disc made with dark chocolate and then the white chocolate disc in the center of the dark chocolate one.

Place a half chocolate-coated piece of almond in the center of the top-most chocolate disc and along the periphery of the dark chocolate disc arrange the edible sugar star motif to make it more appealing to the eye. You can the interchange the position of the white chocolate disc with dark chocolate disc to have more variety if you are making more than one edible rakhi. Your edible rakhi is ready to tied and gobbled up. Happy rakshabandhan!